I wanted to reply then, but I procrastinated. But it turns out there is benefit in this situation.
(1) I originally wanted to say that China, emboldened (for whatever reasons) since the second half of this year (2009), has not felt the need to flatter US. A prominent example was Premier Wen Jiabao's startling snubs of Pres. Obama at Copenhagen, for other nations to see. See my posting titled "China's Oversea Labor" and dated Dec. 21, 2009.
(2) But there was an "opinion" which held differently.
William McGurn, Obama Puts the Dis in Dissident. Wall Street Journal, Dec. 30, 2009.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703278604574624551416209452.html
(" In China, the government sentences Liu Xiaobo to 11 years in prison for writing a letter calling for legal and political reforms. * * * In all these cases, the cry goes up: Where is the president of the United States?")
Note: The "dis" in the title, commonly used in daily life but not in written language, si short from the noun "disrespect."